by Cydney Neil
This article was first appeared in Haunted Attraction Magazine in 1999 but remains relevant and true today as it did then.

Producing a Halloween show that will attract repeat customers and increase profits year after year requires a continuous flow of new ideas. After nineteen years in business in the same area, one of the most effective techniques I’ve found for keeping my shows fresh and innovative is to choose a different annual theme for both of my houses and use those themes in my promotional materials.

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by Jim Kadel

Here’s an inexpensive, easy way to make a bubbling tower for the Lab or UFO scene your haunt It is built from those clear plastic sleeves used to protect eight foot fluorescent bulbs. Most home improvement stores sell these for around $4, and also stock all the PVC fittings and other hardware needed for this project.

Although the plastic sleeves are strong enough to support a column of water, for their total eight-foot length, I recommend cutting the m down to six feet or less. This makes them easier to handle and store. This bubbling tower is made to be disassembled and stored dry. This description assumed that those who undertake this project, have as a minimum, standard shop hand tools. For one bubbling tower an 18-inch square base of 5/8 inch plywood, particleboard, or flake board is sufficient to keep it upright. (read more)

Okay, these are some VERY basic tips, but I am surprised how many haunted houses don’t do these things on their website. I have been looking through tons of haunted house websites lately and have gotten frustrated with how hard it is to get info some times. So here are some tips that will be obvious to a lot of you but others have taken for granted. (read more)

by Bud Stross
When we took over the Haunt and gave it the new name and brought the story of The Dent SchoolHouse to life we knew we had to have a character that would encompass the haunt where ever he went.  Charlie McFree was the man in the story who killed all the kids so he was our man.  I designed him so he would be the Mickey Mouse of horror for the Cincinnati Tri-state.  Other haunts in the tri-state had stories and characters but no one brought one to life that could interact with the audience.  That’s what makes Charlie so unique. (read more)

We didn’t have room for this in the print version of Haunted Attraction Magazine so we thought we would share it with you here. To read the story and see the great photos from ESP, order a copy of Issue #51 today!
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The H. H. Holmes story in Issue #51 depicts a real-life character from Chicago history. H. H. Holmes is as close to a ready-made backstory for a Haunt that I have ever seen. The variety of methods he used to kill people combined with the building that he designed specifically for his crimes is blueprint for a haunted house.

While researching the article, I came across several good sources of information. I have listed some of the resources below just in case you want to read more about this murderer. I would like to express my thanks to John Borowski and Rick Geary for giving me permission to re-produce their photos. (read more)